The group, called “Not Our Faith,” plans on rolling out six-figure TV and digital ads focused on Christian voters – particularly Evangelical and Catholic voters who helped power Trump to victory in 2016.
“Trump eked out 2016 with unprecedented support from white evangelicals and, important to note, a really strong showing among Catholics. We’re going after all of it,” said PAC advisory council member Michael Wear, a former faith advisor in Obama’s administration, according to the Associated Press. “We think Christian support is on the table in this election.”
The group’s first digital ad, which was shared with the Associated Press, is set to run in Michigan and Pennsylvania. The ad takes sharp aim at Trump, accusing him of using “Christianity for his own purposes,” showing images of the Republican president’s photo-op outside a historic Washington church amid this summer’s racial justice demonstrations, reports Forbes.
Trump has depended heavily on the support of Evangelicals and other Christian faith groups, frequently using members in photo-ops in the White House. For months now, Trump has tried to portray vice-president Joe Biden and Democrats, in general, as being hostile to religion.
Republicans are also appealing to voters of faith by claiming that Democrats have unfairly criticized Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett because she is Catholic although no Democratic senator has yet raised the issue during Barrett’s confirmation hearings.
Trump said during a trip to Ohio in August that Biden is “against god,” adding, “No religion, no anything. Hurt the bible, hurt god.”
Actually, the vice-president is an ardent follower of the Catholic faith, and his faith is an important part of who the man is. Biden has made faith central to his campaign. During a fundraiser a couple months ago, Biden, wanting to bridge the religious divide in America, declared Muslim voters “key difference makers” in the 2020 election and called Islam “one of the great confessional faiths,” adding “Let’s spread the faith a little bit.”
The PAC’s advisory council also includes Autumn Vandehei, a former aide to onetime Republican Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, Carolyn Y. Woo, the retired president and CEO of the faith-based humanitarian group Catholic Relief Services, and the Rev. Alvin Love, pastor at Lilydale First Baptist Church-Chicago and chair of faith-based initiatives at the National Baptist Convention.
